Homogeneous
by FanFicQueenieTLA
Summary: What would of been if Tris and Four had gotten to warn Abnegation before the Eriudite attack? Did they help and stop anything at all? Or have they made everything worse? (I know it's been done a thousand times, but I hope for this to be different. Please review)
1. Chapter 1

I know this is a tired story and has been done a thousand times over, but I can't live with what happens at the end of Allegiant. So, this is my version of what would of happened if Tris and Four got to warn Abnegation, and if they had never gone to war in Divergent. **All rights go to Veronica Roth.**

* * *

Tris;

I stand on the roof of where the initiates will soon be jumping from the train and into their new Dauntless life. There is a grin on my face that I can't wipe off, I'm too excited.

This is the year Cristina and I are in charge of initiation. Since the Almost War - lots of things have changed, and many things haven't. Four is the leader of Dauntless now, a position thrust on him when we aired the Erudite attack to the Abnegation. Max and Eric, and the three other Dauntless leaders, were taken to Candor to be trialed, they were found guilty of conspiracy, and executed, along with Janine.

New order in Dauntless was placed - with Tobias as leader. He asked me to be his right hand, and I am, but since this is a peaceful time for us, and I have nothing else to do, I asked to assist Cristina to train the initiates. There was no objection from anyone else.

Tori, Zeke and Lauren are Dauntless leaders too, but it is without a doubt that Tobias is in charge.

Tori secretly protects the Divergent's we find, and is in charge of any humanitarian work that fits with Dauntless ideals, Will is her understudy.

Zeke and Uriah work on the technology, and visual security of Dauntless together.

Lauren holds combat training, and is faction liaison. I wanted to be faction liaison, but Lauren begged for it, she is older than I am, holds more weight, and is Dauntless-born, Tobias couldn't be seen as giving me what I wanted, since everyone is aware of our relationship, so he awarded Lauren the job.

We are trying to get Dauntless back to what it's manifesto says; 'we believe in ordinary acts of bravery, in the courage that drives one person to stand up for another.

"Here they come." Uriah grins at me as the train chugs towards us. We watch as it turns and reaches us.

Christina takes the first leap off, landing gracefully as she hits the roof. The Dauntless-born follow her, and then the transfers. I hop from foot to foot, nervous in case someone doesn't make it, I would struggle to see anyone fall. Seven transfers make it off the train, one is Abnegation, one Amity, three Capndor, three Erudite. The Dauntless born are already stood in front of me, expectant. I eye the transfers, they groan and rub the grit from their bodies from where they landed on it.

I smile at all of them, Uriah does his best impression to look menacing, it makes me laugh. They all line up in front of me, I'm standing on the edge of the roof, above the hole where the net resides, and also where I know Tobias stands, waiting for the first jumper.

Christina walks so she is next to me, looking over the initiates. "They all made it off," her voice is low, only I can hear her. I feel relief wash over me. They are chattering, two Candor transfers are bickering.

"Listen up!" I shout, silence descends and I look at them individually. "I am a leader of your new Faction, my name is Tris. I will be in charge of all transferred initiates, Cristina will be in charge of the Dauntless-born."

"Dude," a Candor boy who is short and skinny, laughs, he has ruffled brown hair and gash on his cheek, "you're barely older than us."

"Age doesn't matter here." Cristina spits. "And if I were you, I would learn to keep your mouth shut."

I grin at her because all this seems far too familiar, and it's enjoyable to be the ones in charge. I walk along the edge casually, all eyes are on me, they nervously glance over as if expecting to see a ledge there.

"The entrance to Dauntless is down there." I point to the hole I jumped through a year ago. "It is several stories down, if you want to be one of us, you have to jump through it. If you refuse, you will be factionless. If you don't make it through it the hole, you will be dead."

An Erudite girl laughs, "you can't be serious?"

"We are." Uriah says. Her face falls, becoming ashen. We say nothing for a moment, pausing for dramatic effect.

"Who wants to go first?" Cristina asks.

I look at them, no one looks eager or willing - they have all averted their gaze. The boy from Candor who spoke up earlier is picking gravel from his elbow, trying to act casual. There is one other boy from Candor and a girl, both of whom are also picking at the gravel stuck in their skin. The girl from Abnegation has her head down, staring at her feet. The Erudite girl who spoke has bent to tie her shoes up, the other boy and girl from that faction are leaning on each other, their hands entwined, eyes locked. The Dauntless born are standing to attention, but not willing.

My eyes fall on the boy from Amity, his chin is jutted out in defiance, his jaw tight, he is staring directly at me. He has dark brown skin and dark brown eyes, conventionally he is handsome, broad shouldered and strong looking. He steps toward me and I stand to the side, making way for him.

He leans over the edge and stares down at the hole, then looks back at me, wind whips around us, "something will break my fall, right?"

"There's only one way to find out," I smirk. He nods at me, gets up on the ledge, and then he's gone. He doesn't scream or shout on his way down, he makes it through the hole and we all hear laughter rise up a second later, with hollering and cheers to follow.

One Erudite girl jumps next, them all of Candor, then five of the Dauntless-born, then Abnegation. The whole thing takes twenty five minutes before the last person has gone through. I turn to Cristina and Uriah, smiling. No casualties and Ne one backed out, this is the best initiation yet.

I give them five minutes before I jump. I am excited to jump, I am not scared like I was, there are no goosebumps rising. I am Tris, a leader of Dauntless. I leap as though I have been doing it all my life. I laugh as I hit the net, lying on my back, staring through the hole, adrenaline coursing though me.

Tobias' hands are reaching for me before I have even caught my breath. His long fingers wrap around my hand, and I use his it to pull myself off, rolling straight into his arms.

He holds me to him, grinning down at me, "this feels very familiar."

I lean up and kiss him, "this was the best day of my life, it was the day I met you."

We pull apart as Cristina hits the net, and I help her. Uriah falls not far behind, Tobias helps him off.

We stand in front of Tobias like soldiers awaiting instructions, he rolls his eyes.

"Lauren took the dauntless-born, Tori is giving the others the tour." He tells us.

We're trying to promote team work, show them that all leaders pitch in, all have equal status. We don't, but that is how Tobias wants to pretend it is, he refuses to acknowledge we have a hierarchy and he is at the top.

I nod. "Food hall?" I ask.

"Food hall." He smiles, and we set off with our hands entwined. Christina and Uriah play fighting as we walk through The Pit.


	2. Chapter 2

Please leave a review, I have no idea if I'm doing okay. All rights go to V.R.

* * *

After dinner, I lead them through the halls the same way Eric had us. I don't say a word and let them take in the dark, cavelike experience of the Dauntless compound. In a way, I am trying to create the same experience I had. It has shaped me into who I am. I silently lead them to the dormitory that I had spent the last year in.

Now, I live with Tobias. Originally, I had my own condo, but Tobias would slip into my room each night or I his, and in the end it seemed a waste, so I moved in with him. We didn't speak about it, it just kind of happened.

I pause outside the wooden doors, my arms folded across my chest. I lean as if this is the most casual conversation in the world. The initiates stop when I do, they all stare at me.

"Through these doors is where you will be staying." I inform them. "One half of the room is for girls, one for boys. But in all, you share a room." The girl from Abnegation looks at me wide-eyed, and I can't blame her, I felt the same. "Breakfast is at seven o'clock in the morning, I expect you to be at the training room by eight-thirty. If you do not comply, you will be punished."

Everyone looks shocked at this, they shouldn't be. Under Eric's rule, failure to comply meant you no longer had a faction.

"Tomorrow," I say, "you will find out about the initiation process. If you do not pass each stage, you will be forced to leave the compound."

"And go where?" The Amity boy asks.

"No where." I shrug. "You will be factionless." There is an cry of moral outrage, I ignore it. "There will be breaks between each stage, for you to do as you please. You are not allowed to leave the compound unless accompanied by a Dauntless member. Do I make myself clear?" They all nod, wide-eyed and scared.

I smirk and swing the door open. It is almost exactly the same as it was. There are fourteen beds for the fourteen initiates. I don't know when Tobias had the chance to organise that, we didn't know how many were coming until a few hours ago.

We have put a curtain in the middle of the room, so they at least get some privacy from the opposite sex. The showers, we also sectioned off, we built a makeshift wall. It was important to me that people were not forced to get naked in front of others if they could avoid it.

"I suggest you sleep, initiates. Tomorrow is the first day of a very long few days."

I leave them to get settled and fight amongst themselves. I barely make it two seconds and around the first corner before Tobias emerges from the shadows.

"Are you following me?" I ask him.

"I missed you today." He says, not stopping his stride towards me. He wraps his arms around my waist. I reach up and kiss him. It's slow and low burning.

"I was heading home," I tell him. Whenever I call his condo home, he grins. "I wanted to see you."

"We can't," he shakes his head. "We are having an initiate party in The Pit, Zeke demands it."

"I don't want to go," I pout. "I want to be alone with you."

He laughs and kisses me. "We'll go for a minute, then we'll leave." He releases me, catching my hand with his as he does, lacing our fingers together. We walk to The Pit in silence.

The chaos of The Pit still grips me. Zeke is stood in the middle, a bottle of drink clutched in his hand, a cluster of people around him as he tells a story, they're all grinning and laughing at him. Children run up and down the steep slopes, it not longer makes me nervous. The Pit is filled with people, some fighting, some talking, some making lavish gestures with their arms. The noise is deafening. There are four people playing music on drums in the back, it's a low, menacing beat. I can't help the smile that forms, my home is perfect for me.

We seek out Cristina and Will, who are sitting close together at a table away from the hustle and bustle. They are talking fast, Cristina is frowning, Will looks unhappy. They have been arguing a lot recently, I don't know how to handle it, their public outburst make me uncomfortable.

Their heads snap up as we take a seat with them, they immediately relax, trying to look as though they weren't arguing. This is unlike either of them, both are so forthright in their emotions. I frown and feel Tobias press a comforting hand on my back. We talk about frivolous things, our conversation staying light, to be honest it's unsettling.

"Hey," Christina suddenly says to Tobias. "I heard you didn't tell the initiates that you're a leader?"

I look to him, he shrugs. "I want to evaluate them before they all know."

"But the dauntless-born know." Will says, frowning. "Four, that doesn't make any sense."

He shrugs again, "it does to me."

Will is right, it doesn't make sense. Also, he's not supposed to be apart of the initiation process this year, he shouldn't be evaluating anyone. His features have stiffened and I know the topic is closed, I study him, I can feel my eyebrows pucker.

"I'm excited." Christina says, I turn to look at her. "Without Eric, initiation should be fun for the initiates."

"Initiation isn't fun." Tobias snaps, "it's gruelling and hard. There's always one person a year who throws themselves into the chasm, not everyone is cut out for Dauntless life."

The four of us lapse into silence. I think of the Abnegation girl, I wonder if she is Divergent or Dauntless? Is she running away like Tobias was? Will she be able to make it? The only person I have no doubt about is the boy from Amity, the first jumper. Zac, he chose as his name. I saw a fire there that won't be put out easily. A further ten minutes pass in silence, my hand is gripping Tobias' he is stroking the wall of my palm with his thumb. Suddenly Cristina stands and announce she is going to bed, she glares at Will and stalks off, he follows after her.

I stare after them.

"They'll be fine." Tobias whispers in my ear. I sigh and nod, but I am not so sure. "Do you want to go home?" He asks and I nod again. We stand, and we weave through the crowd, our hands remaining conjoined. People stare after us as we leave, their scrutiny makes me uncomfortable, I know Tobias is the same.

When we get home I change into a cotton t-shirt, and small pair of shorts. These are the clothes I sleep in, Tobias undresses into his underwear, and we climb into bed. I rest my head on his shoulder, my arm snaking around his waist, whilst his hands trail up and down my body - from my shoulder to my lower back. We are silent, comfortable, content. He kisses my head and I close my eyes. If there is one thing I never have to give up for as long as I live, let it be this.

We are not two people who touch freely, we don't say 'I love you' often, if at all. Every touch, every kiss, that is a declaration of our love, we only feel comfortable doing it with each other. Tobias is the only person who knows everything there is to know about me, and I, him. Somedays, I am so acutely aware of his existence I feel like there are tendrils reaching out from my body and connecting themselves to him. That he and I are one.

We know the peace we are currently in will not last, the Erudite wanted to attack Abnegation for a specific reason, not just to overthrow the government. When that day comes, when whatever the Abnegation are hiding is revealed, I feel that life as we know it will change, and right now, I'm not so sure I want it.

Tobias lifts my chin and looks into my eyes, he melds his lips to mine and I kiss back with passion. I can feel the low, burning, wanting sensation build, as our kiss deepens. It becomes more frantic, urgent, it's a need, our hands touch each other everywhere. After a few minutes we break apart, breathing deeply. This is where it always stops, where we always break apart. I am no longer afraid of being intimate with him, but I know I am not ready for that. Whenever our lips collide, it's hard to think straight, breaking off from him is the most difficult thing I have had to face yet.

"We should sleep." He says, his voice is husky and if I were to speak I know it would mirror his. I nod and roll over on my side. He slides an arm around my waist and curls himself around my body. I nearly always wake up in exactly the same position, as if the sleeping versions of us, can't bare to be apart. Sleep quickly claims me.

* * *

My eyes snap open, connecting with the "Fear God Alone" painted against the wall. Tobias is behind me, his arm still around me, I listen to his even, steady breaths. I awoke with fear in my gut, something is not right. I slide out from underneath Tobias', he doesn't stir and I release a breath I didn't know I was holding. I quickly throw on grey tracksuit bottoms and leave our condo. Heading for the chasm. I don't know why, gut instinct tells me I need to be there.

I stop when I reach it. The Amity boy is standing over the edge, staring down. Fear clenches inside me, we can't have a jumper this year, and not this early. Death is not brave, it is an easy way out. I climb over and join him. He looks at me but says nothing. He's tall, this boy, almost as tall as Tobias. His muscle are evident, he has broad shoulders and the caramel skin of all Amity, dark eyes to match, long lashes frame them. He is a very attractive boy.

I can see from the way he is looking at me, he wasn't planning to jump - relief washes over me. Zac is not surprised to see me though, I note this too. Slowly, I sit on the rock and he joins me, we're so close to the chasm the water is splashing us as it makes it's way down. We sit together in silence, our shoulders touching, facing the waterfall.

"Are you okay, Zac?" My voice is soft.

"I almost didn't make it off the train." He tells me, he's staring at the water.

"That's not uncommon, I had to hold Cristina's hand, and we jumped together."

He looks at me, I look back. "You?" He asks, shaking his head. "No way."

"Way." I raise my eyebrows and give him a small smile. We stare at each other, then I look back at the water, he follows suit. "I was the first jumper too, _that_ is the kind of thing that sticks. No one cares if you _almost_ didn't made it off the train."

Out of the corner of my eye, I see he gives a small not. Then he sighs. "Amity is all about peace. I have spent my whole life believing that peace is the answer." His voice is sad. "Dauntless is not peaceful."

"It's not," I agree. "I was Abnegation." His head snaps around to look at me, disbelieving. "I was, and so was Four. It doesn't matter where you came from now, but whatever Amity taught you, use as a weapon, peace is not all bad. You're the only one in your initiate class who has that advantage."

"I can't see how peace will help me now."

"Maybe feeling peaceful in yourself is a good place to start."

"Initiation is not going to be easy, is it?"

"No Zac, it wouldn't be Dauntless if it was."

We sit and stare at the water. I like Zac, he is not afraid, he is strong, and I think he is going to prove himself kind. I decide I am going to look out for him the way Tobias looked out for me. After twenty minutes pass, I feel a presence behind me, without looking, I know it is Tobias. Zac senses it too, he turns to look and he stiffens.

"Is it a scary looking Dauntless man?" I ask, I'm smiling.

"Yeah."

Zac scrambles to his feet, it leaves me no doubt that he knows who Tobias is. I slowly stand to turn and look at Tobias, I am surprised to see jealousy in his face. It almost makes me laugh. I guess I did leave our bed to hang out with another boy.

"Initiate," Tobias snaps. "You have two hours to sleep before you are due for breakfast. I suggest you get as much as you can, you will need it."

Zac scampers off without a glance in my direction, quickly jumping over the railing and running towards the dormitory. I grin at Tobias as he throws himself over, he strides towards me with purpose.

"What do you think you're doing?" He demands, "hanging out with initiates in the middle of the night?"

"Tobias." I say, placing my hands on his chest and giving him a chaste kiss. "You're jealous."

"Of an initiate? Don't be ridiculous." He stares down at me, his jaw jumping in anger. I try not to laugh.

"Would you be so angry if it was an ugly girl I was sitting close to?" I can't help it, I do laugh at him.

"It's not funny, Tris. What if he tried to push you off?"

I roll my eyes, "why would he try to do that? For what purpose?"

He shrugs, "maybe he worked with Janine, maybe he's here for another reason. You don't know him!"

"You think," the disbelief in my voice is strong, "the boy from _Amity_ was working with _Janine_ and is here to kill me?" I pause, he doesn't answer. "Or are you just annoyed because you woke up to me gone, in the middle of the night, and you find me here, sitting close to a boy you don't know?" I pause again, and again he doesn't answer. I give him a gentle kiss. "What if he was trying to throw himself off, and I was talking him down?"

"Well," Tobias grumbles. "I could see _that_ wasn't going on as you weren't _actually_ talking."

I laugh again, and kiss him forcefully. "I like a jealous _Four_ , he's menacing."

"Shut up," Tobias laughs with me, all tension leaving him, I smile up at him. His hand drops to mine and we connect our palms together. "Come," he says, "lets go back to bed for a little while."

I nod, nothing sounds better.


	3. Chapter 3

When the initiates enter the training room, I am in the middle of the ring, combat training with Cristina. She is kicking my ass. The initiates surround us in a circle, they watch in awe as we fight.

Cristina yells and charges, I jump out the way and run around her side, giving her two jabs in the ribs as I pass, then one kick to the bag of her legs, she falls , I land one punch to the backs of her head. She screams out in pain, then jumps up suddenly, punching me in the jaw as she lands on her feet - the blow causes my head to snap backwards but I don't go down. I grin at her, it's a taunting one.

"Stop." Will says firmly, we both turn to look at him. I am disappointed, I was finally starting to win. We turn back to each other, smiling, and we shake hands.

"Initiates," Cristina says, dabbing her fist across her bloody lip. They all stand to attention, eyes on her. Except for Zac, who is watching me. "There are three stages of training." She says. "The first is physical. We teach you how to fight, how to use a gun, how to hit a target. We will build up your muscle mass, we will make sure you have stamina, we will train you to be able to withstand pain. It is demanding, it is painful, it is harsh."

"Stage two," Will says, not giving them a moment to process the information. "Is emotional. You will face your fears. You will learn to control yourself in an environment where all you feel is fear. Mentally, it is scaring, it takes weeks to master, and there is no one who can help you, only you are in control."

"Stage three," I say, "is your bravery. If you do not know the manifesto off by heart, I suggest you learn it. I suggest you learn what bravery is. We will not be warning you on what we are doing to measure your levels of bravery. We will not be cluing you in. You have to figure it out for yourself, you have to be smart."

"You will be ranked." Will says.

"What?" A Dauntless-born demands. "Why?"

"We have a few select jobs." Cristina glares at him, "those who are the best, get the best jobs, those who are not, get the worst jobs."

"If you fail all tests," Will shouts, "you will be made factionless. It is our aim to ensure no one gets this. If you do terribly, you will be the janitor. It is in your best interests not to fail. We have no time for pansycakes."

A few snicker at the word, but their faces fall when they see the look on the three of our faces. This is no time for jokes, and we are not joking around.

"Who came first last year?" An Erudite asks.

"I did." I say. My eyes fall on Zac. "I was a transfer from Abnegation." My eyes fall to the girl from Abnegation, Jane. She looks hopeful. I glance around at everyone. "Do not underestimate your fellow initiates. Just because you are Duantles-born does not mean you will be better. If you do well in stage one, it doesn't mean you will do well in stage two. Be vigilant, be prepared, listen to us. We are here to help you. Take our advice."

"This week," Cristina smiles, it is menacing. "We will start with combat training, by the end of the week, you will be fighting one another. We don't make the fights fair. I once had to beat Will, I won. You have an entire week to learn your strengths, that is more than what we got."

I step off the ring and walk towards the boxing bags dangling from the ceiling. "Transfers with me, Dauntless-born with Cristina."

The initiates split, seven transfers walking with me, seven dauntless born with Cristina.

"This morning," I say, "is all about different fighting styles and techniques. You need to learn how to handle yourself in combat, how to be prepared for an attack, what to do if you don't have a weapon. That is what today is about." I pause to look at them, they're all staring at me, wary, scared. I don't remember feeling the same way, I remember being determined. "This afternoon is about stamina and muscle mass."

I show them six different style of punching, and pair them with a bag each. I run through the demonstrations repeatedly, getting them to copy. It takes a few tries for them to figure out where to stand, what to do, how to do it. I meander through them, much like Tobias had with me. I feel strong, assertive and also protective. The abnegation girl is gritting her teeth each time she hits the sack, her knuckles are already bruising but she doesn't stop. Good.

Zac is standing too close to the bag, his elbows are bent as he hits it. He's more likely to break his own arm then hurt his opponent. A girl from Erudite has tears rolling down her face with each hit, I don't feel sorry for her. The rest of the class seem to be getting the hang of it. I am pleased with progress.

I walk back around and stand next to Zac, analysing him. "You're too close," I tell him, placing my hands on his shoulders to push him backwards. He glances nervously at my hands, then looks to my face. We're too close together, I can feel his breath wash over my cheeks. I am uncomfortable and I don't know why. I think it's because of the way he is looking at me, the same way Al used to. I step back. Zac looks embarrassed.

"You have strong muscles already," I say, my voice is steady. "And long arms for a further reach. When the blow lands, your arm should be straight, and you need to use your weight behind it. You could probably take someone down with one punch."

He nods stiffly and begins hitting again, it's better, more forceful, "good" I say.

I look to the Abnegation girl, preparing to go and give her some advice but I falter. Tobias is there, giving her direction. He's showing her how to hit with his elbow and she's smiling up at him, I know that look. I have been that girl.

I frown at him, when did he come? Why did he come? I walk towards him, as if he knows I'm looking, his eyes snap to mine, and he looks angry. He holds my gaze whilst I make my way to him but before I reach him, he stalks away. I sigh. He was meant to be meeting with Abnegation this morning, not here. I follow him out into the hall.

"Tobias," I say, he stops and spins, there is betrayal on his face. "What is wrong?"

"I thought there was something odd between you and Zac last night." He spits. "The little blush you just gave him confirms it."

I roll my eyes, "you're being ridiculous. He's an initiate. I didn't blush. I am helping him. The way you helped me."

He steps forward, eyes blazing. "Exactly Tris, the way I helped you. The way I looked at you, the way I felt towards you, the reasons for helping you - is that why you're helping him?"

I grind my teeth together, he is being impossible. "No, Tobias. I am helping him the way I would of helped Cristina, or Will, even Al. The way you helped Shaunna, I want him to pass, I want them all to pass. I was heading over to Jane to help her, but you got there first. This is childish, it's not like you."

"How would you know?"

"Because I know you." I step towards him, he doesn't step back, so I take another step and keep going. He lets me place my hands on his chest, and I reach up to kiss him. He visibly relaxes. It isn't funny anymore, I don't want him to feel this way. "How did the meeting with Marcus go?" I want to change the subject, get him to talk about something steady.

"It didn't." Tobias grunts. "He wants to meet alone and I said I wouldn't without your father present. The next time I arrange the meeting, I want you to come. I trust your instincts."

"Tobias, you were just basically telling me you don't trust me at all."

His jaw sets, "I don't trust anyone with my heart, Tris. And I have inexplicably given mine to you."

My blood pounds in my ears, only Tobias can say something so romantic and mean it as an insult. "And you think you don't have mine?" I ask, offended. "That I don't feel the same way about you?"

"That's not what I m-"

"That is exactly what you're saying." I cut him off. "Think about your next words carefully, Four."

"Don't use my name against me." His voice is soft, his eyes are raking over my face. I can see his love for me. "It's not fair to do that... I am sorry, but there's something that makes me uncomfortable about Zac."

"That's because he likes me," I admit, "likes me the way you do. But it's me you need to trust, not him."

He raises his fingers to brush my lips, "I don't just like you, Tris."

"I know," I say quickly. We haven't said the words out loud yet, and I don't want them to be said here, in this hallway, after a fight. "Stay with us for the first few days, watch our interactions. I think then you will understand why I want him to survive. Tobias, he is what I imagine you were like all those years ago. He reminds me of me too."

I know as soon as I say it, it makes him uncomfortable again, but he can't think my love is that fickle. It isn't, and it's not fair to me, or nice to imply that it is. Tobias nods slowly and I smile, we enter the room together. Zac turns to look at us, and frowns as we smile and part. Tobias heads over to the Dauntless born and I meander through again, the Abnegation girl is attacking her bag with enthusiasm, she's using her speed and her elbows, heeding Tobias' advice.

"Very good." I smile encouragingly at her, she grins back. I give her a few more tips, things that I know that helped me, things she couldn't get from Four, and though she barely speaks, she listens carefully and follows through. She is very pretty, her blonde hair is long, her blue eyes are piercing, now she is in Dauntless clothes she looks nothing like a plain Abnegation girl and more like someone who had been melded together to become incredibly pretty. I stare at her for too long, I know, but she is captivating, determined yet quiet and unassuming. She is one to watch.

Two hours pass, all the initiates look exhausted. "Alright stop." I yell, they all do and turn to look at me. "I am going to demonstrate how someone smaller can get an advantage on someone bigger." I turn and walk to the ring, my initiates follow but stay on the outside. I motion for them to sit around the ring, they collapse to the ground, thankful for the release.

On the other side is where the Dauntless born are, they're looking over. I nod at Cristina and she stops her training, motioning for them to copy the transfers, they flop around me too.

Will and Tobias are standing by the door, I look at Tobias and he shakes his head laughing. He knows what I'm asking.

"You're funeral." Will shouts as Tobias enters the ring, the initiates laugh.

"This is Four." I say, pointing to Tobias. "As you all know, he is the main leader of Dauntless." Tobias looks at me sharply, but he's fooling himself if he thinks they don't know. "He was the top of his class also, and he trained me. He knows my every move, my every tell, my fighting habits. He's smarter, stronger and quicker than I am. Still, I am going to win this fight."

Tobias laughs with disbelief, so do Will and Cristina, some of the initiates grin at each other. The problem with Tobias is that he is used to winning every fight, and he knows he can beat me. What he is forgetting is that he loves me, and when it comes down to it, he won't be able to hit me or hurt me. I have no problem with hitting him today though.

I also have been fighting with Zeke behind closed doors for weeks now, learning to be able to beat someone bigger than I. Our last session, I beat him and now I am confident.

We stand opposite each other, Tobias is grinning like a excited boy. I roll my eyes. I'm not going to rush him straight away, he would expect it. Instead, I circle him for a while, he keeps his eyes trained on me, waiting for my tells. He doesn't know about Zeke and I, he doesn't know that I know my tales now too.

"Do something!" Something yells, and I rush at Tobias. He expects me to go for the throat with my elbow, that is what I would before but this time I slide myself on the ground, knocking him to his feet. There is no point in jumping on top of him, he would throw me off in seconds, but as he jumps up I land a blow to his stomach, he falls back down again.

"Oh my god." Cristina says.

I circle him, waiting for him to get back up. He isn't grinning now, he's frowning, confused and I laugh. He dives for me, but I have studied Tobias as much as he has me, and his face shifts a little whenever he decides to attack, it's subtle and I only know it because I look at him everyday, I am aware of his every expression, his every thought. I dive out the way before he can even get near me, I am behind him and I jump, landing a kick to the back of his legs. He goes down again, I roundhouse kick the back of his head and he falls. I know he's not knocked out, but he doesn't get back up either.

I glance at Cristina and Will, they look impressed, and they look scared. Tobias jumps to his feet, and he walks over to me, I know the fight is over so I don't shield myself, he gives me a quick kiss on the lips and steps out of the ring. The room is silent and it is deafening in its stillness, everyone is waiting for me to speak. They stare at me with respect. Tobias causally leans against the wall, looking bored, but his body is tense, tight. I turn to my initiates.

"That was an unfair fight." I tell them, "does anyone know why?"

An Erudite raises her hand, I nod to let her answer.

"You know him." She says. "You know him as well as you know yourself, and you used it to your advantage. He underestimated you, he was surprised by your actions - he was predicting you, thinking he knew you as well, you used that."

"I also really just wanted to beat him for once in my life." A few laugh. "But you're exactly right. Never underestimate your opponent, never think you know them well enough, and never think you can win just because you're bigger, smarter or stronger. Four should have won outright, anytime before today he would have. I used my brain, you would all do well to remember this lesson... You're dismissed. Be back here by one o'clock."

They get up and file out, talking excitedly amoungst themselves. I feel a little guilty and I don't know why. Zac and Jane are the last to walk out, they're chatting animatedly to each other throwing looks to me as they exit.

I sit in the middle of the ring, Cristina, Will and Tobias join me.

"What was that?" Cristina asks.

"Last year, Peter beat me up because I didn't listen to Four, and I didn't use my head. I rushed in - if they're going to be knocking clumps out of each other, I want them to use their heads, not brute force to win. They need to think as well as act."

"Everyone is going to hear about this." Will says, "you just made Four look like he isn't invincible anymore."

"Everyone in Dauntless that knows him, and has seen him fight, will think he let me win." Cristina and Will nod, it's true, no one will believe I beat him.

"Where did you learn to fight like that?" Tobias asks, his eyes are boring into mine. "That isn't what I taught you. It was quick, it was smart, but you don't even have your tells anymore, I had no idea how you were coming at me."

I blush, "every morning before the initiates arrived, when I disappeared for a few hours?" He nods. "I came here with Zeke. You trained me well, so well that Zeke didn't really know what to do with me at first. Then we decided if I was going to be better, I would have to know how to beat you. I've spent an entire month dedicating myself to being as good as you are, if not better."

Cristina lets out a low whistle, Will looks impressed, but Tobias is staring at me like I am an enigma.

"I'm not so sure it's healthy for your desire and drive is to be able to beat your boyfriend up." Cristina laughs.

"It's not my desire." I say, I'm staring at Tobias. "I wanted to be his equal."


	4. Chapter 4

We're sat in the food hall around the head table for lunch, me, Cristina, Zeke, Shaunna, Lynn, Tori, Marlene, Uriah, Will and Tobias. I am squashed between Tobias and Cristina, eating my food is hard as my elbows are pushed to my side restricting movement, I have to duck my head to bring my food to my mouth. Neither Tobias or I have said a word since we left the training room, I have offended him somehow and I'm not sure how. I briefly wonder if it is about Zac, but in my gut I know it's not.

Cristina and Will waste no time in telling the others about my victory. Zeke is glowing with pride.

"I didn't think it would work," he grins, "obviously Four is far better than me, he came first in our initiation, to be honest I thought he would just kick her ass and be done with it."

"So, it was a premeditated fight?" Tobias asks Zeke.

"No." Zeke laughs, "I just thought if it came down to it, she wouldn't last a minute. Chill out, Four, we're not plotting against you."

"Yeah, it doesn't feel like that all." Four snaps, Zeke rolls his eyes - their playful banter is unnerving. Sometimes, I find it hard to see Tobias as anything other than my big scary boyfriend that makes everyone run in the other direction.

"It was amazing." Will gushes, "Tris became the initiates' Four. Big, scary and powerful."

"That wasn't the idea." I say.

"Sure it wasn't." Tori says.

I clamp back my retort, I wasn't trying to be big and scary, I was trying to inspire hope, give them a reason to keep fighting. If I can do it, so can they. It's the Divergent in me, I know, because the Dauntless don't think like that.

"So," Lynn starts, "how did the initiates take the news they would be Factionless if they failed?"

"They didn't really respond." I say, " we bombarded them with information, I'm not sure it had sunk in for them. I know it's just a scare tactic to get them to fight harder and prove themselves, but it seems cruel."

"It has to be done." Tobias says. "Obviously we will never force anyone out, but it's a good way to see if they will stand up and help each other, the fear of being Factionless shows their character."

"Why can't we just threaten them with terrible jobs?" I ask.

"Because that's not as scary." Uriah says. "It's not as if they really will be Factionless, that cruelty was for us."

I have to admit, it's a fair point. I fought so hard because being Factionless wasn't an option for me.

"Look at this happy family." Peter walks over to the table, it's been weeks since I've seen him, I haven't missed him. He has been on night shifts at The Fence, as requested by him and granted by Tobias and I, any excuse to get him away from me, I was taking. Peter pushes Lynn slight so she has to shift upwards and make space for him. He sits, looking annoyingly happy.

"What are you doing, Peter?" I demand.

He takes a bite of bread and through a mouthful he smiles at me, "what? I can't sit here? Why not? I thought we were all in to holding hands and hugging now? You know, since two Stiff's are in charge."

"Careful." Tobias warns, we're all glaring at Peter.

"Alright, alright, alright." Peter stands, turning away slightly, he looks back over his shoulder at us. "I thought you all would like to know what I know... You know, about Abnegations secret? But I can see I'm not welcome." He begins to walk away.

"Peter!" Tobias roars. "Sit. Down."

Peter sits, he grins at everyone and takes his time to get comfortable, wiggling around on his seat, slowly picking at his bread. I feel Tobias tense next to me, preparing to attack.

"Unless you want a table of Dauntless' best, kicking the shit out of you," Uriah says, "I suggest you start speaking."

Peter swallows his bread, every second feels like a minute and every minute feels like an hour. Finally, he looks directly at me. "Abnegation are releasing some video next week, a message from our ancestors. It's what Janine was trying to stop." He points a finger at me, "your stupid little faction is going to destroy us."

My heart speeds up, my palms sweat. "How do you know this?" I demand.

Peter shrugs and looks at Tobias, a satisfied smirk on his face. "I hear things."

"Peter," Tobias speaks like he has tasted somethings foul. "I will not hesitate to request truth serum from Candor, I suggest you answer her question."

"Some factionless guy told me." Peter says quickly, blushing. His voice is nervous, as if this isn't going to be good enough of an explanation. "Normally, I wouldn't believe them, you know, they're factionless, they must be crazy. But they've changed, the Factionless are organised, they can fight, they stole a train. I barely scraped by getting off it, loaded with them it was, they pinned me down, they were going to kill me. Once they realised I was Dauntless they let me go. Said their leader had ordered no killings of Dauntless. Her name is-"

"Enough." Tobias snaps. "This is a lie. You're lying." Something about the way Tobias is holding himself, too tight, too serious, makes me feel like he knows something about this. His lips are pressed together, he's avoiding my gaze.

"If I was lying," Peter says, "I would have come up with a better story. They told me they're going to stop the video being released, that the leader of the Factionless wants to set a meeting with Four, they said Four knows how to get to them."

"He's untrustworthy." Will says, "it's Peter." Everyone nods in agreement, except me. In my gut I know it's true, it makes sense. The reason Janine wanted to start a war, why Marcus was avoiding meeting us, Tobias' reaction to Peter spilling this news.

"We'll look into it." Tobias says, but he says it in a way that I know he means he will deal with it alone. I frown at him. "You can leave now, Peter." Tobias dismisses him.

"What?" Peter asks, outraged. "That's it? That's the thanks I get?"

"You shouldn't bring information to your leaders to get a thanks." Tori says, "you should do it because it's expected."

"Unbelievable!" Peter shouts, "great, this is just great." He throws us a dirty look and storms off.

We all lapse into silence, everyone looks to Tobias, their faces' expectant. He doesn't say a word, suddenly, his face blistering with anger, he stands and leaves, he doesn't look at me, so I don't get up.

They all turn to me.

"What?" I ask.

"Don't you want to follow him?" Tori asks.

So he can lie to me? "No." I say.

"Well, someone needs to talk to him, find out what the hell that was about." Cristina says.

"Be my guest." I say. "He'll just tell you that Peter is a liar, we have a meeting with Abnegation in four days and he'll find out what's going on then." Is it in four days? I can't remember exactly, and I'm not sure what he would say.

"Peter said Four knows how to get in contact with the Factionless leader." Will says.

"I doubt it." I shrug, but do I?

"Yeah?" Lynn says, "then why does he look like we've just found out something we shouldn't have? And why do you look furious?"

I shrug, trying to control my face. "I don't know."

"You don't want to find out?" Uriah asks.

I set my jaw. "No."

"Any reason you're being so testy?" Cristina asks.

I glare at her, "we don't tell each other everything, and he looks like he needs space."

"Or he wanted to speak to you alone." She says.

"Fine." I snap, stalking off to find him. I can feel their eyes on my back, watching my retreating figure. I know he will be in our condo, I don't know how or why, I just do. I storm towards it, a scowl on my face. I kick open our door, and he is sat on our bed, his head in his hands. He looks up at me, eyes wary.

"Want to tell me what's going on?" I keep my distance, my arms folded across my chest "Why do I have the feeling you just lied to all of us?"

"It's complicated." He says.

"So un-complicate it." I say hotly.

"I can't tell you, I can only show you." He sighs, "tonight, I'll show you tonight, when everyone else is asleep."

"You're not making any sense!" I shout.

"If I tell you, you won't believe me."

"Because I often don't believe you and doubt you?" My words have an infliction, it's an insult, I know, but I am angry. He looks away from me, up to the ceiling.

He is keeping things from me, but doesn't trust me with Zac? He just lied to the leaders and our friends, and he wants me to sit back for now, and trust him with the excuse I won't believe him otherwise? Does he not know how feeble he sounds?

"Tonight," He says softly, "it will make sense then."

"Tobias," I implore, "what is going on?"

He shakes his head sadly, "Tris, I will show you tonight."

I glare at him, he doesn't look at me. A chill sets in around me, I know he isn't going to answer, I turn on my heel and march to the training room. There's no point in heading back to the food hall, I don't have an answer for the questions that will be asked.

I take my anger out on a boxing bag. I'm not in there for long, my knuckles have only just started to hurt, when Zac and Jane walk in, they falter when they see me. I am not in the mood to mommy coddle initiates just now. I am not feeling kind.

"Hi" Jane says softly.

"There is another forty minutes before you are due in here." I tell them, my voice is harsh.

"We wanted to practice in the ring, on each other." Zac says, he is staring me down, challenging me. I smirk at him.

"Get to it then." I say, pointing at the ring. I get back to hitting the bag. Out of the corner of my eye, I watch them. They are sloppy, slow. Jane is better than Zac, she has taken mine and Tobias' advice, she keeps her distance, and runs at him occasionally, using her elbows and knees to attack. Zac isn't prepared at any time she charges, it shocks him, and he always reacts too late. Without even knowing I get sucked into their fight and watch with interest. When they break apart, I give them both advice. They both heed it, and by the time the forty minutes are up, they are on equal playing grounds. It lifts my spirits considerably.

"Step out." I tell them, "before the other initiates arrive." They do so quickly.

Cristina and Will walk in, shocked to see me there, they begin to ask me what I am doing, but they spot Zac and Jane and keep their mouths shut. Tobias arrives not long after with a group of initiates behind him, it's the first time I feel he's looked his age, young and lost, the weight of the world on his shoulders. My heart constricts so I avoid looking at him, but I feel his eyes on me.

It's not lost on me that I am standing close to Zac, our shoulders almost touching, but Jane is also close to me. With the way he's acting, I doubt that will register to Tobias.

When everyone is here, Cristina stands in the ring. I stay with Zac and Jane, I can't help but glance at Tobias, he is frowning at me.

"This afternoon," Cristina shouts, silencing the room. "Is an assault course, outside. You will do it for six hours, over and over again. By the end of it, you shouldn't be able to walk. If someone falls, if someone stumbles, if someone fails, you are not to help them."

The last part is a lie, we want there to be teamwork, we want them to help each other. They will get bravery points for defying us and helping their other faction members. This is stage three already, and they don't even know it. I smirk at Will, he grins back. I wouldn't have made it through my initiation without the help of him and Cristina, or Tobias.

Tobias leads the way to the assault course, it's huge, and just outside of the dauntless compound, underneath the train track which is feet above us. It took us an entire month to construct it, it was Uriah's idea. I loved it, I pushed Tobias until he reluctantly agreed.

It starts with a ladder to climb to the top of a tree, there is a rope that dangles from the train track, for you to swing to another tree, then you have to scale down and crawl under a net flat on your stomach. On the other side of the net, you are met with a pool of mud, it drags you down and is incredibly hard to wade through, tugging at every muscle, and leaving you exhausted by the time you clamber out. Once you are free of that, you have to climb up a thirty foot wall and scale down the other side. Then you come to a makeshift river, it gives the effect of harsh waters, there is an under current that drags you down. It is impossible to drown in it, every ten seconds a pulse pushes you back to the surface, but it stimulates the fear of drowning. Once you have made it through that, you have to jump from a pod to pod, if you fall off, you have to start again. Finally, there is a raft in a lake. You need teamwork for this, there is no way to get across without two people, but we have given strict instructions not to work together. I look at the course in all its glory and feel like a proud mother.

The quickest so far was Tobias and Zeke, they took eleven minutes to do the whole thing. Tobias and I took twenty minutes, Cristina and I took twenty five minutes, Cristina and Will the same time. By the time you get through the mud your body is screaming in pain and you still have several obstacles to face, but when you're doing it with someone, it's fun.

We make them pair off, and line behind each other. It's not a surprise to me that Zac and Jane chose each other. I smile encouragingly at them.

Tobias, Will, Cristina and I stand on a platform above them, looking down.

"You are in pairs and will go in the order you have been place, there is to be a ten second gap between each pair," I shout down at them, "but remember, under no circumstances do you work together, help each other, or even speak."

Christina blows a staring horn, and two dauntless born initiates start off together, ten seconds pass and Zac and Jane take off. They don't speak, they don't even look at each other, but subtly they are working together. Zac swings from tree-to-tree first, and he pretends to throw the rope away from him, but really he's throwing it hard enough that a little jump from Jane will get her across with ease. He clambers down the tree and she watches on, he maps off what is easier for her and she follows, but make sure she never catches his eye. If I wasn't looking out for it, I wouldn't even notice the small help they give. Zac pauses at the net, logically Jane is smaller and will be able to manoeuvre it faster, he pretends to analyse it while Jane dives, making way for him to get through it faster. They get into the mud together, and once submerged they move closer together, I know they have linked arms and are using each other's weight to push each other through. They climb out, and he sprints to the wall, the way to climb up it is through the dents in the wall but we have placed a net over them so they're invisible, the net looks like it would be easy to climb, it is not. Zac figures this out pretty fast, Jane is slowly walking towards him as he starts up the wall, but I know he is mapping the way for her. When he reaches the top he waits for her to catch up, pretending to be annoyed at her slow pace. He and Jane overtake the dauntless born in front of them. I try not to grin. They scale down the other side together, at the same pace, mimicking each other.

Jane looks terrified at the river, she shaking her head and it becomes clear she can't swim. Zac whips his face around to me, pleading with me to help her, making gestures that demand he is given permission, I keep my face stony and say nothing. He shrugs and gets in backwards, he pulls her down, his arm wrapped around her body as he pulls her to the other side. I glance to Tobias, he is watching Zac and Jane with acute interest, it is like seeing what it would have been like if he and I were in initiation together. I try not to laugh. They hold hands as they jump from pod to pod, it looks like they're just sticking together, they're not. It's easier if you use your combined weight to jump across as the pods are bouncy. They get to the raft, not a word leaves either of their mouths but they both push off together. Jane clambers on, picking up the paddle, and Zac uses his leg as the propellers, they come back around to the beginning. I am trying very hard not to beam at them.

"Thirty-four minutes" Cristina mutters, amazed, looking at the stop watch she's holding. "How?" She asks.

Zac and Jane are gasping for breath, standing at the beginning, no one else is even close to catching up. The Erudite pair are bickering at the raft, unable to figure it out.

"Don't just stand there." I scream to Zac and Jane. "Do it again."

"Watch them." Tobias says to Christina and Will, so the four of us forget about all other initiates and our eyes are on the boy from Amity and girl from Abnegation who have far too much cunning between the pair of them. I feel inexplicably happy.

It takes about four hours around the course before the other initiates figure out they need to help each other, by this point they're exhausted, wet and cold. Zac and Jane are still in the lead, but they have slowed considerably, my legs hurt just from watching them.

"Should we call it time?" I ask.

"It has been four hours, we did say six." Cristina says.

"I think we should call it time, we're meant to have more mercy, they can barely walk, if they go any slower they'll come to a complete stop." Will says/

"Initiates, this is your last go around, once you have finished you can stop." Tobias calls.

Zac and Jane have just made it off the raft, they collapse on the floor. Janes head on Zacs chest as they both breathe heavily, they're laughing freely, proud of themselves. I feel like a proud big sister.

We wait for the two dauntless born who are at the end to finish and we come down off our ledge, the initiates are all on the floor, unable to stand any longer.

"Congratulations, Zac and Jane." Tobias says, "you are the winners. You decided that helping each other was more important then listening to each us. Teamwork is important in this faction. It is how loyalty is formed. You were just awarded points for stage three. Be proud."

They're all too tired and out of breath to speak or protest. We give them ten minutes before we demand they get up and jog back to the compound. Zac gives me a grin and wink as he jogs past, I laugh and hear Tobias' deep chuckle behind me too. I turn to face him, he smiling broadly at me. Momentarily this afternoons argument is forgotten and I fall into step with him.

"They're what I imagine we would be like if we were in initiation together." I tell him, nodding towards a disappearing Zac and Jane. "Able to read each other without actually speaking, subtly helping each other without others knowing..."

He places a hand on my arm stopping me from walking and we face each other, the initiates go inside with Cristina and Will. As soon as we're alone he kisses me, it's deep and passionate, the moment his lips touch mine I am gone for. I raise my hands to his hair, crushing his face to mine and kiss him with fervour. It feels like too much time and not enough has past when we break apart. I stare up at him, him down at me. I can feel my love oozing out of my body and wrapping itself around him.

"Let's go." He says me when the moment has passed and the air fizzles back to normal. I nod, afraid of what my voice will sound like. We head inside, hands entwined. I don't try and hide my smile.


End file.
